Account-cabinet.



B. 0. MAXWELL.

ACCOUNT GABINLI.

Arrplonmn FILED JAN. a1, 1908.

11,074,964. Patented Oct. 7, 1913.

a 1mm 1. 776 3511mm; 5

B. O. MAXWELL.

ACCOUNT CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 31, 1908.

Patented 0ct.7,1913.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

CDLUMBIA PLANOORAPH COq wAsHlNu'mN. D. c

B.- C. MAXWELL.

ACCOUNT CABINET;

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 31 1908. l,?4,964, j Patented-0013.7;1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Wi b1 eases Col-"IBM PLANOGRAPN C?" WASHINGTON, D. C.

tlNlfED STA'FES @FFQE.

BERT C. MAXMVELL, OF

CANTON, OHIO.

ACCOUNT-CABINET.

Application filed. January 31, 1908.

It is particularly adapted for the purpose of affording a systematic, compact, and simple filing system slips, or books.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an account cabinet or accounting appliance having a series of superposed compartments with tiltably mounted trays separating one compartment from the next, and each tray supported entirely independently of the other trays in the series in order to prevent the weight of the series above any given tray from being supported by or cushioned by the said tray when in its normal position.

Another object of my invention is to provide a cabinet in which salesbooks or pads may be readily filed.

Other objects of my invention will be readily apparent from the description and drawings of a device embodying it, which for the purposes of illustration, I have herein set forth.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an account cabinet embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a cabinet embodying my invention. Fig. 3 is asection on the line 3-3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4: is a perspective view of one of the side walls, detached. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the back wall, detached. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one style of tray, detached. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of another style of tray, detached. Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional view through one rear corner of the cabinet, the section going through one of the pintles by which a tray is hinged thereto. Fig. 9 is a side elevation of a part of a cabinet and three trays showing the trays supported by resting directly against the inclined edge of the casing instead of upon projections 8. Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing a modified form of hinged connec- Specification of Letters Patent.

for sales and account.

Patented Got. '7, 1913.

Serial No. 413,622.

tion between the rear end of a tray and the cabinet.

In the drawings, 2 indicates a suitable base or platform. I prefer to make it of sheet metal with the sides and ends bent down, as shown.

3, 8 are side walls, each preferably made of sheet metal. At their lower ends these side walls may be secured to the base 2 in any desired manner. For the purpose, I have shown them provided with inwardly turned lugs or extensions 4, which are riveted or otherwise secured to the top wall of the base. Adjacent to their rear edges each side wall is preferably longitudinally grooved or recessed, as illustrated at 5, the said grooves or recesses extending preferably at a downward forward inclination to the base 2, and parallel to the rear edges of the side walls. The metal at the front edges of the side walls is preferably bent inwardly, as indicated at 6, and then forwardly at 7, and is suitably notched or cut away to form teeth or projections 8 arranged in a vertical series, each one of which is adapted to be engaged by and to support a tiltably mounted tray to be hereinafter described. 9 is a suitable top wall for the cabinet. It, also, is preferably made of a sheet of metal and at either side has its edges turned up, as indicated at 9'. At its front end this top wall rests upon the upper edges of the toothed portions 7 of the side walls, and near its rear end upon the upper edges of the recessed portions 5 of the said side walls. Between these points of support for the top the metal of the side walls is bent over and about the up-turned edges 9, 9, of the top wall, as indicated at 10, 10.

11 indicate trays, each one essentially intended for the filing therein of sales or account slips, though they may be used for other purposes. These trays are preferably all similarly formed of sheet metal, and are arranged in a vertical series so as to form filing compartments one above the other. Each tray preferably consists of a bottom wall 11 with up-turned edges l1 at either side thereof, a rear wall l1 inclined upward and rearward from said bottom wall and preferably overlapping the rear wall of the tray above it, a centrally disposed downward and forward inclined name display section 11 at the front of said bottom wall, and upwardly turned sections 11 11 at either side of said name display section.- The rear wall of each tray is preferably vertically scored near either side thereof, as indicated at 12,

directions to form a guide and support for a hinge rod or pintle 14-, the ends of which extend beyond the sides of the rear wall and are suitably pivoted to the inner walls of the grooved sections 5 of the side walls 3, 3' of the cabinet. For the purpose of this mounting, T have made a vertical series of recesses 15 through the side walls, each recess being arranged to receive one end of a tray pintle or rod 14. These, recesses are spaced apart, preferably the distance between the top edges of two adjacent teeth or supporting lugs 8 for the front ends of two adjacent trays. The trays are preferably mounted in series, each in downward forward inclined position, and each has an outward lug or extension 16 at either side thereof, arranged preferably to rest or bear upon the top edge of one of the teeth or projections 8.

The front edges of the trays are preferably so formed that the front end portions of one tray will overlap the corresponding front end portions of the next adjacent tray in the series, that is, the downward forward extending portion 11 of any one tray overlaps the'corresponding downward extending portion 11 of the tray next beneath it, and the upward extensions 11, 11 of the latter overlap the upward extensions of the former. Such an arrangement of parts per mits the trays to nest one within the other as they are'elevated in operation. This I have found to be of very considerable i1nportance, as it precludes the necessity of lifting all of the trays in the series above any given tray in order to obtain access to the said tray, and also permits of several parties operating the cabinet at the same time and at different points in the tray series, as indicated in Fig. 1.

When the trays are adapted to nest within each other in what may be termed an overlapping series, as just described, it is advisable that they be so supported at the rear as'to permit relative movement thereof'up and down and forward back. For this purpose the pin-tle apertures 15 in the side walls 3, 3 are elongated, thus permitting relative movement of the pintles of adjacent trays.

l7 's a back for the cabinet. lit is preferably formed of-sheet metal and has a back wall 17 bent forward at either side, as indicated at 17 andhaving its edges then turned inward, as indicated at 17 The top wall 9 is recessed at either side, as indicated at 9 to receive the adjacent edge 17 of the rear wall, and permit the latter to s ide and the metal adjacent to. the scored portions is struck in opposite "back and forth to permit 1,074.,ece

of each tray, may be formed in any suitable manner. I have shown the metal of which this section is formed, as vertically scored at either side, as indicated at 1 8; the metal between these scores is then depressed to receive a name card, and cutaway :or recessed at 19 to permit the ready removal of an inserted card by pressing it outward.

In some instances, a merchant desires to issue to certain of his customers an individual account or salesbook. Wherethis is the case, my cabinet is readily adaptable for the filing of such books, an individual compartment being provided for each book. In the drawings, I have illustrated at the bottom of the cabinet a number of trays 21 adapted for this purpose. iiVith the ex.- ception of the construction of their front ends, these traysmay be substantially similar to the trays 11', above described. Each has a bottom wall 21 with uprturned edges 21 at either side thereof; laterally extend-l 5 ing lugs or projections -22,-each arranged to engage a supporting tooth or projection 8 at one side of the tray, a rearwall 23, carrying a transversely arranged pintle or rod 24-, and a down-turned front edge25a o The right hand front corner of each tray is recessed or cut away at 25" to facilitate 1 the ready grasping of av book when it is in the tray.

26 is a name display section, preferably 5 pivotally connected to and suspended from the down-turned edge 25 .of the tray. For the purpose of illustration I have shown this name displaysection flexibly connected to the tray 1 which permit the section to be readily swung the introduction into or withdrawal from the trayof a book. Each name display section may be vertically scored at either side, as indicated at 2.8, and the metal on the outside ofsaid scored lines pressed outwardly, as indicated at 28. The ends of the name display card are then inserted at the lines of scoring. These name display sections are preferably formed with an outwardly turned upper edge 26 to which the rings or-links 27 are connected in such manner that, when normally suspended, the said sections tend to assume a downward forward inclination, as shown. Each section is preferably recessed or ent away at 29 to facilit-ate'the removal of a name card from the holder, and to lighten the lower edge of the section soas to distribute the metal in the section in a way to facilitate its assuming normally, a downward forward inclination from its points of support.

With trays having flexibly connected walls at their front ends, such as just described, it is not necessary to elongate the pivot openings 15 in the cabinet side walls to facilitate the easy operation of the trays, as the front walls fold up readily when a series of trays is lifted, and each tray swings about its respective pivot freely and without the engagement of the front end of one tray with the front end of the other, as is the case where the trays have rigid front walls which nest one within the other.

I am aware of the fact that an account cabinet has heretofore been devised, comprising a series of superposed sheet metal tiltably mounted trays, one tray arranged to bear at its front end upon the front end of the tray beneath it. In this earlier construction, however, the operator must elevate all of the trays above the one to which he desires access, and if he should let go of the tray after it is raised, all of the elevated trays of the series descend with it and impart severe shocks to the tray series as an entirety, and particularly the trays beneath the last raised one. This in time will tend to damage or injure the trays, get them out of alinement, and seriously affect their easy operation. I have devised an individual support or rest for each tray in the series, and arranged these supports or rests in such manner that only the weight of any one tray and its contents is borne by the rest or sup port for the tray. When a plurality of trays in my improved cabinet is elevated and then allowed to drop, each individual tray engages with its respective support and the weight of the entire series and the shock due to the falling of all of the trays at any time elevated, is never concentrated upon a single tray, or upon a single point of the cabinet,

\ as each tray in descending, when it reaches its normal position, is stopped by its respective support or rest.

The operation of the apparatus will be readily understood. The merchant assigns a tray or compartment to a customer and inserts a card bearing the customers name in the card holder for the purpose, on the tray. Each order or sales slip for that particular customer is inserted in the compartment assigned to him. Where a book is issued to a customer, a compartment is assigned for it by placing the customers name in a swinging holder on a book tray, preferably the holder above the tray assigned to the book.

It will be understood that material advantages arise from having the name display sections of the book-supporting trays flexibly or pivotally supported so that they will swing in such way as to permit the front ends of the trays to move relatively to each other, and thus preclude the necessity of elevating all of the trays above it in order to gain access to any one tray in the series, and at the same time making it pos sible for more than one operator to work at a given instant upon different trays in the series.

It will be understood that the above de scription and the subject matter shown in the accompanying drawings, is made for the purpose of illustration and not with the idea of in any sense limiting applicants invention, which may be embodied in various constructions and manners by those skilled in the art. It has occurred to me advisable to illustrate a modified manner of mounting the trays so as to permit of their up and down and forward and back movement relative to each other, and this I have done in Fig. 10. In this modified construction, in stead of a straight rod or pintle 14, I employ a hinge or bail-like rod 30 having an offset ortion 30 between its end portions 30 which latter are adapted to fit loosely but snugly in apertures 15 in the side walls of the cabinet. A tray may be connected to the offset portion 30 of one of these baillike pivot rods in any suitable manner. In the construction shown in Fig. 10 the rod 31 extends through a pintle opening formed by slitting the rear end of a tray and bending part of the tray forward and part rearward, as shown. With this construction of tray mounting, as a plurality of trays are elevated at their front ends, the trays may move forward and back and up and down freely, as the action of the bail-like pivots will permit them to readily accommodate themselves, each to its adjacent trays in the series.

In Fig. 9 I have shown the lugs or extensions 16 on the trays as resting directly upon and against the downward and forward inclined front edges of the side walls of the cabinet, which are plain. This construction, of course, is the equivalent of the first one described in which the front ends of the side walls are notched or toothed.

What I claim is 1. An apparatus of the class described, comprising a frame having side members, a series of superposed trays arranged between said side members, each tray pivotally connected to said side members by a pivot eX- tending through said side members, and a back for the frame having forward extensions arranged to conceal from view the ends of said pivots.

2. An apparatus of the class described, comprising a frame having side members, each longitudinally grooved near its rear edge and having a longitudinal series of pivot apertures through said grooved portion, a series of superposed trays arranged between said side members, each tray carrying a pivot which extends ataeither end; through one of said rpivot apertures in thej side frame member, and a back fitted to-sa-id extending section, said upward extending sections arranged to overlap the correspond- 1 ing sections of the tray above them in the series.

a. A sheet metal tray for an apparatus of the class described, having a bottom wall and a name display section, the latter being vertically scored near either side, and having its portions on theoutside of said scored lines raised, and the portion between said scored lines depressed, the depression deep- .ening from the bottom of said scored lines to the top thereof.

5. A sheet metal tray for an apparatus of the class described, having a bottom wall and a name display section, the latter being vertically scored near either :side, and having its portions on the outside-ofsaid scored 7 lines raised, and the portion between said superimposed trays within said frame, each tray being provided with a bottom and a front walliadazpted to nest within the front wall of an adjoining tray, means forpivotlowered, and means for preventing the forward end of each tray from dropping upon the tray below it. 7

In testimony whereof IafliX my signature, in presence .of two witnesses.

i G. MAXJVELL.

Witnesses Y W. H. SMITH; LAURA-B-SGHARIO.

Copies of this patent may 'be obtained for :five cents each,-by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 6;

4O ally supporting each tray at its rear end to I permit its forward end to be raised and 

